Compatibility charts?
 

Back in the day when I dabbled in 356s (waaay before the Internet), there was a compatibility chart floating around of VW parts (with part numbers) that would fit our precious Porsches. It was valuable for a starving student trying to keep his 356 running.

I've been reminded of this chart multiple times in the last few days, at least as it relates to our vintage bikes, and wonder if such a thing would be useful for C&V bike parts. Obviously, lots of connection schemes are sort of standardized (derailleur hangers, brake mounting, seat post and stem diameters, etc), so you could often substitute a set of SunTour Superbe brakes for Campy NR if you were so inclined. I'm not worried about swapping entire parts, more about parts of parts (pieces parts?)

Still, incomplete parts get sold from time-to-time. Here are some compatibility questions:

• Campy NR/SR brake pads? Getting a little pricey. I use Kool-Stops. I noticed these Chorus Monoplaner (Monoplanar?) pads on Ebay just now (no affiliation):
  
  http://www.ebay.com/itm/270853172673
  
  The seller indicates they will fit NR/SR.
  
• I came across a set Kool-Stop Weinmann four-dot replacement pads recently and snapped them up for a Raleigh Competition I'm refreshing for my son. As far as I know they are an NLA sort of part. I can't imagine anyone would use 40yo hard-as-a-rock Weinmann pads on their classic ride. What do people use as a substitute?
  
• I came across these incomplete Campy Triomphe calipers on Ebay:
  
  http://www.ebay.com/itm/321333438339
  
  Will NR/SR barrel adjusters fit them?
  
• Over on CR someone was asking about Mafac brake spring compatibility between the 50s and 80s eras.
  
• Also on CR someone asked about using a SunTour 7-speed body as the basis to build an Ultra-6 freewheel.
  

These are just a few examples. I think it might be kind of useful to create some sort of compatibility chart (or charts) as parts (or pieces of parts) get harder to find.

some compatibility information can be gleaned from the Howard Sutherland bicycle workshop manuals.

have found them to be of immense help through the years.

http://www.sutherlandsbicycle.com/

I had the LBS stock those campy pads. They work great for NR/SR brakes. They cost me $25.00

Velomine has the Campy pads:

http://www.velomine.com/index.php?ma...roducts_id=654

It's a keen idea, but compiling that kind of extensive database is kind of impossible without some kind of major investment.

To wit...
A lot of that type of information IS already available on dozens of sites across the web (including this one) albeit in a fragmented way, and some of it is in foreign languages (which is fine for those of us who can read them, but obviously not so much for those who can't).

Still, to have it all under one roof would take an operation as dedicated as Wikipedia, and would probably need to be updated every six months or so- not to mention the whole process of vetting the information for empirical accuracy, in addition to occasional translation & legal accountability (which in turn implies the existence of a legal team).

so... $$$.

That's all very expensive & time-consuming, even for a volunteer effort (and how many years would it take before it's useable?). I mean, look at Wikipedia or Linux; public broadcasting, at all the fund drives & donation requests; bandwidth & printing aren't free, after all. :innocent:

Understood. That's their Ebay auction I referenced in my original posting. :-) Note that the title mentions Chorus Monoplanar pads, but the text mentions NR/SR, and says, "also fits Chorus Monoplanar"...

The examples I posted were just that. I didn't mean that people should start hunting around for solutions to those particular problems.